CP Gurnani, CEO, Mahindra Satyam, hopes FY14 will be better than FY13 despite challenges in the global markets. In an e-mail interview with BV Mahalakshmi, he says the combined entity (Mahindra satyam & Tech Mahindra) will have the ability to cross sell to current and future customers of both companies on account of the enhanced depth and breadth of capabilities, thus, becoming a provider of ?complete end-to-end solutions? to key clients. Excerpts:

Given the challenges in the global IT industry, what is your outlook for this fiscal?

Year 2012, just as last few years, has been extremely challenging and trying with the certainty of uncertainty. Headwinds are a norm and have come to be a natural phenomenon, across geographies, industries, markets and economies. Very few have been able to keep insulated with most of the companies being exposed to the challenging and changing phase of business.

We do not practice guidance and with the global headwinds, do not consider it to be a practical measure at all. We hope that FY14 will be better than FY13.

After the merger, how do you think the business identities will spread across Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra?

Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra, both hold a unique and strong position in their respective markets. Both the companies shall leverage their expertise in all areas they currently have strong competencies in. The combined entity? will have the ability to cross sell to current and future customers of both companies on account of enhanced depth and breadth of capabilities and become a provider of ?complete end-to-end solutions? to key clients on account of a fuller product basket.

The merged entity will be in a position to develop and deliver enhanced as well as new technologies which will create new benchmarks of excellence; build up solutions that are differentiated, safe and meet the distinct needs of our customers in all market segments and geographic locations.

The network, mobility and security aspects of Tech Mahindra combined with Mahindra Satyam?s deep expertise in Analytics, Cloud and Social Media shall enable them to bring in a joint ?go-to-market? strategy for digitizing the enterprises and helping them be future-ready and future-proof with our NMACS Platform.

How does the Young CEO programme help? Is there a whistle blower policy as well to maintain good governance?

Our Young CEO programme has been initiated with the mindset of nurturing the culture of young entrepreneurship within the organisation where identified individuals can take up significant roles with ?end-to-end? responsibility in the areas of M&A, new business initiatives, platforms, or developing a new Geography.

Though this initiative helps us deploy the hidden potential of the candidates within, it doesn?t directly help the board in decision making. We have a Shadow Board, in the system for that purpose, which is an alternate body to the actual board of directors as a junior level.

We indeed have a whistle blower policy in our company that we follow diligently. If it is about governance, every associate is a CEO in my company.

How does the scenario look for e-governance projects in the domestic market? Would you also be looking at government-backed projects in the overseas markets as well?

The e-governance sector in India is expected to take a big leap in the coming times with more and more government services and processes being facilitated by the ICT industry?s solutions and offerings. Government offices across various industries have taken a partnership approach and leveraged the deep focus on e-governance evolution in the country.

Mahindra Satyam has a dedicated vertical for the sector. We are looking forward to various such projects in the areas of BFSI, healthcare, aerospace and defense, nationally and internationally.

Which are the verticals which will fuel the growth in this fiscal and are there any untapped geographies?

As indicated by the last few quarters, major contributors include manufacturing and BFSI. We are expecting the trend to continue in the coming fiscal.

Americas has shown maximum growth and has been the major revenue earner, with Europe and other regions exhibiting a bearish growth.